Future High-Performance Spaceborne Microwave Radiometer Systems

In a traditional spaceborne microwave radiometer system with a scanning antenna, there is often a conflict between spatial and radiometric resolution. Integration over many beams per frequency might be necessary to improve radiometric resolution. Many beams may be generated using many classical feed horns or by a focal plane array (FPA) system. At C-band, horns are bulky and replacing several such horns with an FPA is an interesting option. The FPA concept uses many small antenna elements, many receivers, and powerful online digital processing. An FPA system that can replace four horns is evaluated, especially concerning power consumption.